Building connections with nature in Bolton

The Kingfisher Trail is a critical wildlife corridor for Greater Manchester which provides some of the most deprived urban communities in England with a doorstep opportunity to connect, engage with and immerse themselves in nature.  Over 500,000 people live within walking distance of key wildlife sites along the Kingfisher Trail. The corridor offers a countryside experience to these urban communities; something which the coronavirus pandemic highlighted more than ever as being vital to the health and wellbeing of people.   

The trail has a number of well-established Friends of Groups and other community groups who play a major role in infrastructure and generic habitat maintenance, as well as supporting promotion and running of community engagement activities.  However, awareness and use of the corridor and key wildlife sites by the local and wider community is low, particularly amongst ethnic minorities and individuals with disabilities.  It is critical that audiences using and supporting the Kingfisher Trail reflect the diversity of our communities to ensure that the landscape is maximising its value as a place to bring people together, deliver health and wellbeing benefits and contribute to wider community inequalities.  

The aim of our project is to engage communities who are currently underrepresented in active use and involvement with the Kingfisher Trail, particularly those from black, Asian, disabled and SEN backgrounds. We aim to inspire these audiences about the fantastic wildlife havens within walking distance of where they live and provide them with the confidence to use and play an active role in key wildlife sites.  The project will provide training for a number of individuals representative of underrepresented communities to empower them to deliver and lead regular outdoor activities with their peers on the Kingfisher Trail.  The project will also target individuals with poor health and wellbeing, engaging them in practical sessions to improve their skills, confidence, health and wellbeing and pride. 

Our project will cost approximately £43,000, allowing us to retain one project officer and pay for tools, volunteer costs and training as well as event costs and will deliver the following outcomes:  

• 100 people from underrepresented audiences (Asian and black community, disabled individuals, SEN background) engaged in a series of outdoor activities to inspire and connect them with the natural environment on the Kingfisher Trail; 

• 15 individuals from underrepresented communities engaged in training to improve their knowledge, confidence and skill to lead outdoor engagement activities with their peers on the Kingfisher Trail; 

• 35 volunteers engaged, targeted at those with poor health and wellbeing to help deliver access and practical conservation works to improve accessibility and habitat quality at key sites along the Kingfisher Trail; 

• 20 practical task days provided for local volunteers to help improve accessibility and habitat quality at key sites along the Kingfisher Trail; 

• 200,000 people reached – we aim to increase awareness of the Kingfisher Trail and the importance of its natural heritage amongst the local and wider (Greater Manchester) communities through interactive and engaging social media, press and news articles. 

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